


Happiness is a Hot Bath

by kaeorin



Series: Loki's Lullabies [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avenger Loki (Marvel), Bath Houses, Bathing/Washing, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Lullabies, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:40:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23523202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaeorin/pseuds/kaeorin
Summary: When you get home, Loki surprises you with a warm bath, and you convince him to join you.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Loki's Lullabies [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678240
Comments: 9
Kudos: 211





	Happiness is a Hot Bath

Shopping was a weird experience lately. Everything had the air of a ghost town, even when places were filled with people. No one looked at each other. No one brushed past each other. Tensions were high, and there was a lot of pressure to get in, get your stuff, and get on with your life. On the one hand, that suited you just fine. That was, more or less, exactly how you’d always done your grocery shopping. On the other hand, there was a frenzied sort of near-panic underlying every step you took outside. Whether it was in the air or in your head, you hated it.

You shopped by yourself, of course. Every week, Loki tried to convince you to let him teleport himself to the shop and back, but you’d seen how draining that was for him, and you also just weren’t wiling to send him out to do your mundane chores like that. So every week, you took yourself to the store while Loki paced back and forth in your apartment like a caged animal. When you got back, he’d take your bags from you and insist on putting the groceries away. You didn’t fight him on that one. It had to be hard on him, stuck in the middle of something without any way to change things. If putting the groceries away was a way that he could take control, that was fine.

As always, Loki was at the door when you got home. He scooped the bags out of your hands before you could put anything down and kissed your cheek. “Go into the bathroom, love. I’ve a surprise for you. I’ll take care of these.”

In the bathroom. You couldn’t stop yourself from arching an eyebrow at him, but he only grinned in response before disappearing into the kitchen. Normally, you’d follow behind him and take a seat at your table as you watched him take care of the groceries. He was a god. He came from an entirely different realm in outer space, and he’d been worshipped by humans for millennia, but he still handled your fresh produce with care. But...apparently, there was a surprise. In the bathroom.

The first thing you noticed was the candlelight. The lights were off, but there were candles flickering on most of the flat surfaces. Until this very moment, you hadn’t realized how many candles you owned. But then you noticed the tub. It was nearly full. Loki had lit all these candles and run you a bath and...somehow, scattered rose petals on the top of the water. You didn’t often take baths in the middle of the day, but things were weird now. Time was weird now. And Loki had gone to all this trouble for you…

After a moment’s hesitation, you undressed and sank into the water. It was the perfect temperature: hot, but not quite scalding. Up close, you could see the way the rose petals shimmered a little, which reassured you that Loki had not actually gone wandering the streets looking for an open florist. They were illusions. Somehow, that made you smile even wider. You sat back against the edge of the tub and let your legs stretch out until they reached the other end. This was lovely.

You drifted for a little while, just letting yourself sort of meditate and enjoy the water. Maybe there was something to be said for taking baths in the middle of the day. Gradually, you began to get the sense that you were being watched. Loki’s gaze could be a truly physical thing sometimes, so it wasn’t hard to figure out when he was looking at you. Slowly, you opened your eyes, and sure enough, he was leaning against the doorway, watching you with a tiny smile on his face.

“You should see yourself,” he said. He almost sounded...reverent. You smiled back at him, mostly unwilling to ruin the moment with a self-deprecating comment, and reluctantly pulled yourself into a sitting position.

“This is amazing. Thank you.” Really, you knew you shouldn’t be terribly surprised: there hadn’t been a day yet so far where he hadn’t sought to do something lovely for you or surprise you with something that made you feel this warm inside, but it was still...a lot. He gave a small incline of his head, still not breaking eye contact with you.

“I’d hoped you’d like it.” He did seem rather pleased with himself. You were happy to see it. He had every right to be happy. 

“Do you know what I’d like even more?” You sat forward a bit more, fully anticipating the uneasy question that slid across his face, and reached out to him as if you could keep him from pulling away. “If you’d join me. Will you?”

When he laughed, you couldn’t miss the edge of relief in the sound. This dear, dear man. It hurt you, sometimes, the way the rest of your world saw him, but you were secretly pleased that he let you see this side of him. He stepped further into the bathroom, hands already at the hem of his shirt. It might have been kind of you to look away as he undressed, to give him a bit of privacy before he gave in to you, but you couldn’t tear your eyes away. When he was fully nude, you scooted to one end of the tub so he could slide in behind you. He wrapped his legs around you and pulled you in to his chest. The tub wasn’t quite big enough for the both of you, but you were comfortable enough. You laid your head back against his shoulder and then tilted your chin up a bit more so you could try to look at him.

“Is this okay?” you asked. “Are you comfortable?”

“Perfectly so,” he answered, and tightened his arms around you as if to prove his point. Neither of you said much of anything for quite a while. His hands roamed your body, touching you gently. His fingertips brushed along your chest just above the water, then dipped down lower to press against your belly. Even with the warm water surrounding you, you shivered a little. Neither of you could miss the goosebumps that erupted on your skin. He laughed and kissed your shoulder. As he explored your body, you were incredibly grateful to note that there was very little heat in his touch. He was simply caressing you, not...trying to seduce you. That was probably for the best. There wasn’t enough room in the tub to do anything much more vigorous than this. 

You sighed in contentment and reached up to brush your fingers along his forearms. “You are so kind,” you murmured. He snorted behind you and stilled his hands for a moment.

“You may be the only one who thinks such things.” He kept his voice low, but you couldn’t miss the dull pain in his voice. You would have liked to turn around to face him, but he kept a tight enough grip on you that you couldn’t. You had to settle for stretching your arms up so you could caress his face.

“Other people don’t know you like I do,” you assured him. “They’ll learn. Give it time. And as soon as all this is over, I’ll do my part. I’ll...buy a billboard! And I’ll put up a giant picture of you feeding homeless kittens. I bet that’ll help.” He smiled—you felt the way his cheeks lifted a bit—and then he turned to kiss the palm of one of your hands.

“That won’t be necessary, love.” He spread his fingers out against your stomach and traced patterns on your skin. Once again, you shivered despite yourself. He chuckled and nuzzled the side of your neck. “You are the only one whose opinion matters to me.”

The weight of his words settled comfortably inside you. He sounded truthful. You squeezed his face gently, perhaps as a substitute for your current inability to give him a proper hug, and then you lowered your hands to the tops of his thighs. “Well. My opinion is that you are lovely.” Your voice sounded strong even though your insides felt all giddy and squirmy. He laughed again, and the movement made you rise and fall with his chest.

“As are you.”


End file.
